[GREN-Exec] FW: [All] The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association

Sun Oct 25 10:14:12 EDT 2009

Being as Light Rail Transit is something that GREN took a position on,
should we consider responding to this? Is this something we should put on
the agenda at the November GREN meeting?

John

-- 
John Jackson
17 Major Street
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1
519-744-7503

------ Forwarded Message
From: RLT Milligan <mill at continuum.org>
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:51:56 -0400
To: GREN <all at gren.ca>
Subject: [All] The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association

Hi All,

The below pro-BRT group T4ST intends to try to have a referendum on LRT vs
BRT as part of next year's municipal election. Perhaps we need to join with
Transport 2000 and other groups in opposing this narrow-thinking group.

Robert

The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/>

Blogging from the Golden Triangle and Beyond

Combating NIMBYism in the K-W LRT Debate
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/10/combating-nimbyism-in-the-k-w-lr
t-debate.shtml> 

   By James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/>  on October  8, 2009  2:20 PM

Note: this piece reflects the personal opinion of the author, and does not
necessarily reflect the opinions of other members of this community. Do you
disagree? Do you agree? Say so! This post has been crossposted here
<http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/10/08/combating-nimby.shtml> .

 <http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/>

Back in June, the Region of Waterloo voted in favour of an ambitious
proposal to establish an LRT line running up the centre of
Kitchener-Waterloo between Fairview Mall and Conestoga Mall. The line would
be augmented by express buses running south from Fairview Mall into
Cambridge. The total cost of this proposal is currently budgeted at over
$790 million. The province has committed to covering a third of the cost,
and the federal government practically tripped over itself in order to offer
support for the line. In total, two-thirds of the cost would be covered by
federal and provincial taxes, leaving the region on the hook for the
remaining third.

The proposal appears to have widespread support. Despite the presence of a
few residents expressing concerns, ordinary people turned out to encourage
regional councillors to vote in favour of the proposal. And although the
proposal has been approved, the conversation isn¹t finished. We have work
ahead in determining where exactly the line should run, where the stations
should be located, how often the service should operate, and how fares
should be collected. It will be important to pay attention to this process
and lend our voice to ensure that this proposal, as adopted, serves the
community to the best of its ability.

Unfortunately, a group of individuals who appear to be opposed to the
concept of an LRT, are organizing to have yet another fight on whether we
should build an LRT in the region. The thirty-member strong Taxpayers for
Sensible Transit (T4ST) have set up a web site <http://www.T4ST.com> , and
are speaking out in the local media. The community newspaper, the Kitchener
Citizen <http://www.kitchenercitizen.com/>  ran an article on this debate,
interviewing only Peter Gay, a representative of the group, rather than a
wider selection of individuals.

As I said, it is important for the public to remain engaged in the process
so that the details of the implementation of the LRT serve the community
well. In this, T4ST has an opportunity to contribute to the good growth of
the region. It is unfortunate that, in trying to drum up support, T4ST has
resorted to series of talking points and contextless links which seem
designed to create a climate of fear. By their approach, they appear to want
to polarize the community, and rather than talk about how the LRT can best
serve the region and how the design can be improved, they simply seek to
oppose change, regardless of its merits.

The group is planning ³an educational evening² this November where Andy
Haydon, the former regional chair of Ottawa, will talk about his fight
against an LRT plan in that city ‹ a fight which culminated in the line¹s
cancellation.  Oh, and a $36.7 million out-of-court settlement against
Ottawa for breaking contracts with Siemens.  Oh, and, best of all, a
completely new LRT plan that operates over much the same route the old plan
ran over in the first place. If T4ST want to talk about the mechanics of
fighting a transportation proposal from the city, perhaps Mr. Haydon is a
good expert to call. But in terms of working to ensure a smooth planning
process, rather than jerking your knee and  breaking your own nose by making
costly decisions that you eventually have to go back on, there doesn¹t seem
to be as much forethought there.

The most disingenuous claim offered by T4ST is that the LRT operating down
the middle of King Street will ³essentially turn King Street into a one-way
street². So says Peter Gay, co-chair of the opposition group. This seems a
silly argument, and he compounds it with such handwringing lines as ³What
will happen to the Oktoberfest Parade if King Street is made into a one way
street?² Oh, yes, why won¹t anybody think of the children.

Here¹s the reality: the LRT plan calls for transit vehicles to operate north
on King Street from Breithaupt to at least William along the centre of the
street. To ensure that these vehicles can operate without being affected by
traffic congestion, cars might be kept off these two lanes. One way to do
this would be to build a centre reservation ‹ essentially a raised curb ‹
occupying the two centre lanes of King Street.

Essentially, the LRT might change this portion of King Street into a
boulevard, no different from what exists on Queens Boulevard between
Highland Road and St. Mary¹s Hospital, and nobody sensible complains that
Queens Boulevard here is a one-way street. People on one side of the street,
hoping to turn turn left, simply turn right, until they get to the next
intersection, at which point they do a U-turn. This is what happens already
on centre reservation streetcar lines in Toronto, such as on Queen¹s Quay
and Spadina Avenue. It¹s not a major inconvenience. So why is Peter Gay
resorting to such a misleading term? The group also raises the old canard
about the loss of parallel parking on this street, but King Street along
this section has very little parallel parking. Most stores, like the Central
Meat Market, have their own parking lot, which often stands mostly empty.

Moving on, Is Peter Gay worried about emergency vehicles being kept out of
the centre reservation? Well, of course he is, as that¹s the sort of
attention-getting stuff NIMBY groups thrive on, but the centre reservation
can actually improve emergency response times, since vehicles like fire
trucks and ambulances can duck into it and dodge around stopped transit
vehicles, without being blocked by competing automobile traffic. This is
already in place on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. If you can hop a curb in a
car, firetrucks can hop the curb leading onto the centre reservation.

And as for the Oktoberfest Parade, I too would hate to see it taken off of
King Street, but there is no reason why it and the LRT have to conflict.
Toronto¹s Santa Claus Parade has operated for over a century and its big
floats have had no trouble navigating the overhead wires of Toronto¹s
streetcar networks. I see no problem temporarily suspending service on the
LRT while this civic institution takes place.

Gay goes on to get several facts wrong. He says, ³the plan doesn¹t even
include stops at the major places people will want to go. It won¹t stop at
the airport, the high schools, the Centre in the Square, and it won¹t go to
either the Waterloo or Kitchener farmers¹ markets or the Aud.² Well, the LRT
plan does go past the high schools ‹ two, in fact (Kitchener Collegiate and
Cameron Heights). It most certainly passes the Kitchener Farmer¹s Market and
will include a stop there.

What the LRT does serve includes Fairview Mall, the Schneider Plant and
nearby industries, Cameron Heights Collegiate, the Kitchener Farmer¹s
Market, downtown Kitchener, the UW School of Pharmacy, Kitchener Collegiate
Institute, Grand River Hospital, Sunlife, Uptown Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier
University (albeit, at some distance), the University of Waterloo, the RIM
Tech Park, the residents of lower Lakeshore and Conestoga Mall. In short,
some of the biggest employers and major trip generators across the Region.

It¹s true that the LRT doesn¹t stop at the airport, but no other transit
service does: the airport is in the middle of nowhere. (And, unfortunately,
it seems unlikely that any transit vehicle will have any reason to stop at
the airport in the near future, given that the number of regular flights out
each day can be counted on my hands.)  It¹s also true that the LRT doesn¹t
stop in front of the Centre in the Square, but other buses do, and the LRT
is not designed to replace them.

Look, Mr. Gay:  an LRT works best as a (pretty) short (pretty) straight
line.  LRT advocates would  like to include the St. Jacob¹s Farmer¹s Market,
Centre in the Square, the Aud, and Highland Hills Mall in the mix, but to do
that, we¹d have to add separate lines, and I¹m sure you would agree that
it¹s best that we start small.

Finally, Peter Gay is quoted as saying ³There is no other city of our size
that supports an LRT,² but here he is wrong. While we would be the smallest
city in Canada to operate an LRT when it opens, the city of Portland, Oregon
today boasts a population of 575,930. Moreover, Portland opened its LRT back
in 1986, it had a population of under 437,000 (Note: it is the centre of a
wider metropolitan area of around two million, but the LRT largely serves
just Portland). The City of Calgary opened its LRT in 1981, when it had a
population of 591,857. It currently has a population of roughly 988,000. The
City of Edmonton started construction on its LRT in 1974, when it had a
population of 445,000. Today, 730,000 live in Edmonton.

Today, over 478,000 call the Region of Waterloo home, which if you¹re
looking for magic numbers, appears to be right in line.  (Total population
is not a great way to gauge transit need:  the truly telling thing is that
the iXpress bus the LRT will paralell is routinely jammed full.)  More
importantly, for the past ten years, the Region of Waterloo has been
exceeding its growth projections. In 2031, the Region expects to house
almost three quarters of a million people.

When that time comes, the people in the region will think one of two things:
either they will thank us for having the foresight to build an LRT to serve
the region¹s needs, or they will curse us for being short-sighted,
small-minded and fearful of change. Fortunately, I believe most residents in
the region fall in the former category, not the latter, and I am confident
that we will build an LRT, and that it will serve us well in the years to
come. I hope that the members of T4ST will come forward with construction
suggestions on how to improve the system, rather than simply standing firm
and saying Œnot!¹

(Update: Friday, 9:07 p.m.): Helen Hall publisher and editor of the West
Edition of the Kitchener Citizen newspaper contacted me to let me know that
the article I quoted was not the only piece they have done on the K-W LRT
project. Indeed, they have been covering this issue since it went before
council earlier this year, and have run a position paper by the Grand River
Environmental Network endorsing the LRT. She was concerned that the wording
of my article above implied that the Citizen was reporting only one side of
the story with the article above.

My comments were related only to the article above, and did not take into
consideration the other work the Kitchener Citizen has done covering the LRT
issue. I apologize for giving that impression and would like to retract the
insinuation.

Further Reading
* Taxpayers For Sensible Transit <http://www.T4ST.com/>
* Facebook Page for Supporters of the K-W LRT
<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=81680629050> . Current Membership?
1,628. Current membership of the T4ST Facebook page? 39.
* What is an LRT? Consult the citizen-produced Toronto LRT Information Page
<http://lrt.daxack.ca/>
* Light Rail Now <http://www.lightrailnow.org/>
* MAX (Portland) Light Rail <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAX_Light_Rail>

Guelph Doctors Seek Patients
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.sht
ml> 

   By Darcy Casselman <http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/>  on July 15, 2009
11:40 PM   | No Comments
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.sht
ml#comments>   

Guelph has too many doctors.

I just managed to find a doctor in Kitchener after several years of being
doctorless.  I find it hard to believe that there¹s a patient shortage
anywhere in the region.  Guelph, however, has this enviable problem.

They managed to bring in 10 new doctors, but have been having a hard time
getting enough patients to sign on.

If you¹re interested, check out guelph.ca/doctor <http://guelph.ca/doctor> ,
or tweet @guelphchamber <http://twitter.com/guelphchamber>  and they¹ll
match you up.

Waterloo Park Master Plan
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml>

   By Darcy Casselman <http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/>  on July  4, 2009
6:08 PM   | No Comments
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml#
comments>   

The City of Waterloo has posted a preliminary concept plan for the new
Waterloo Park Master Plan, meant to guide development over the next 20
years.  

Looking it over, there are some things I really like about the proposal.  I
like that there are more and more well defined entrances to the park.
Having two stages in the Centennial Park area could make for some cool
festivals if you can keep the folks in Luther Village from complaining about
the noise.  I like the perimeter walkway ideaŠ

I¹m a little nervous, though, that the park as it is now isn¹t terribly
recognizable in the plan.  Trees take a long time to grow, and bulldozing a
park doesn¹t seem like a good way to start.  Also, as Ellen points out
<http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/> ,
the document is mute on the impact of the LRT line.

The seem to be looking for feedback, though.  I missed the chance to go to
the June 25th meeting, but there¹s a questionnaire
<http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7
/PWS_PARKS_documents/Questionnaire_WMP_Preliminary_Concept_Plan.pdf>  they¹d
like people to fill out asking for darts and laurels.

Link <http://waterloo.ca/WaterlooParkMasterPlan>  via Strangeattractor
<http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/>

Community Building 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml>

   By Darcy Casselman <http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/>  on July  1, 2009
4:57 PM   | No Comments
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml#comment
s>   

At DevHouse Waterloo <http://devwaterloo.pbworks.com/>  on Monday, Jesse
Rodgers <http://whoyoucallingajesse.com/>  and Joseph Fung
<http://www.josephfung.ca/>  broke from the usual software demo format and
opened up a round-table discussion about how to build an online identity, a
community, visibility, engagement and excitement around Waterloo.

The longer I live here, the more I can sense the potential of this place.
Particularly when you hang around with high tech folks all the time.  But
right now it¹s mostly just potential.  True, there are lots of exciting
things going on that few people know anything about, but it feels like a lot
of the energy here is being dissipated on the wires.

Jesse and Joseph are mostly talking about the local startup community, and
there are particular needs there.  Finding mentors and peers, getting
funding, and promoting your idea are all fundamental to getting a startup
off the ground, and nobody outside of Silicon Valley seems to know how to do
those things well. 

But more than that, we need to build spaces and groups for people to meet
and co-mingle, online and offline.

Offline, there¹s plenty of cool stuff going on.  Meetups and Tweetups, camps
and clubs.  It was pointed out, though, that they all seem to exist in
silos.  It seems to be hard for people to find out about them and there¹s
very little cross-over between groups.  There¹s also a lack of decent
meeting space.  Waterloo casts an envious eye at Guelph¹s eBar
<http://www.bookshelf.ca/> : a pub with decent atmosphere, free wifi, and a
predisposition towards hosting meetups.

Online, as James pointed out
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellingto
n-bloggers-identity.shtml>  there¹s a lot of building to do to bring
together a cohesive community.  I signed on to the Waterloo Wellington
Bloggers Association <http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/>  because I think
it¹s a step in the right direction.  (If you haven¹t already, get your blog
in the aggregator there).  People are piling on Twitter these days, and you
can find out a lot of great stuff that¹s going on locally there too.  But
there¹s still a long way to go.  We don¹t have nearly the online resources
of places like Toronto or San Francisco.  There¹s lots of stuff going on in
town that I only find out about after the Record posts a review.  For a town
that¹s supposedly tech savvy, we really ought to be able to do more.

So I¹m going to redouble my efforts and do more.  This is a great place to
live and an exciting place to be, and people ought to know about that.

Cross-posted from the flying squirrel
<http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/index.php/2009/07/01/community-building/>

On Building a Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Identity
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellingto
n-bloggers-identity.shtml>

   By James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/>  on June 27, 2009  2:17 PM   | No
Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellingto
n-bloggers-identity.shtml#comments>

This group blog has been growing in fits and starts. I regret that I haven¹t
had as much time to devote to writing articles for this group blog as I have
for my personal blog <http://bowjamesbow.ca/blog.shtml> , but that hasn¹t
meant that the community of bloggers in County Wellington and the Region of
Waterloo is quiet. Recently, bloggers have been debating the merits of the
proposal to build a LRT line and a rapid bus branch through the spine of the
region. Ruth at Yappa Ding Ding <http://yappadingding.blogspot.com/>  has
been arguing passionately that we should be seriously considering whether
this proposal will do more harm than good and, today, regional councillor
Jane Mitchell joined this group <http://chicktrip.com/blog/> , with a blog
that, among other things, talks up the merits of the LRT proposal
<http://chicktrip.com/blog/?p=49> .

I¹ve said privately that, thanks to the onslaught of the media, I know far
more about the goings on at Toronto City Council than I do Kitchener City
Council or even Regional Council. That¹s a shame, really. Because as you can
see, this region can have passionate political debates of their own.

I¹m about to head out to a bloggers gathering at the Huether Hotel, which
starts today at 4 p.m. I know that a number of bloggers will be there. We
have a strong regional identity. We may not have as large a blogging
community as, say, Toronto, but like Stuart McLean says in the Vinyl Café:
we may not be big, but we¹re small.

On Waterloo Region's Car-Dependency
Part 3: The Bad News
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependen
cy-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml>

   By James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/>  on June  1, 2009  9:29 AM   | No
Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependen
cy-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml#comments>

 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/>

This photograph is entitled Last Bus
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/>  and is by Jeremy Ladan
<http://www.flickr.com/people/tvot/> . It is used in accordance with his
Creative Commons license. This article has also been crossposted to Bow.
James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/06/01/on-waterloo-reg-2.shtml> .

In the first part of this series, I talked about the desire on the part of
certain citizens of this region to live car free
<http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/09/on-waterloo-reg.shtml> , and in the second
part I discussed the positive steps the region had taken in improving its
public transit access in the past twenty or so years
<http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/27/on-waterloo-reg-1.shtml> . In this part,
I¹ll highlight some of the challenges that remain and, more frustratingly,
areas where the region has taken a backwards step.

For the past couple of years, I¹ve been privileged to give a presentation on
transportation to the grade eight students of The York School in Toronto
<http://www.yorkschool.com/> . As the editor of Transit Toronto, I¹m one of
a list of speakers providing their take on the issue for the benefit of a
project the students are working on.

In my presentation, I point out to them that, though I am an advocate for
improved public transportation, I still own a car. I have nothing against
car ownership. I think the automobile is a wonderful luxury that everybody
should enjoy. I just wish it would remain a luxury only, and not become a
necessity of life.

Think about your neighbourhoods, I tell the students, many of whom come from
suburban climes with inadequate public transportation. Think of where you
live and how it relates to where you shop, where you go to school, where
your libraries are, your pools, your friends¹ houses, your video stores, et
cetera. And then think of what would happen if you or your family no longer
had access to an automobile to get them.

And this is not some vague notion, I tell them. I tell them about how my
wife, who until a couple of years ago suffered from a debilitating condition
called Trigeminal Neuralgia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia> , had her license taken
away from the government, because as soon as any doctor or other official
within spitting distance of the government hears the phrases ³debilitating
bouts of pain causing one to black out² and ³without warning² in the same
breath, it practically becomes their obligation to do so.

It is now two years after Erin has been cured of TN, and she still doesn¹t
have her driver¹s license back. You do need to have gone through a year with
no incidents in order to get your license back; the other year is either Dr.
Vlad¹s mad-scientist attitude to paperwork (³paperwork? what¹s that? now
where¹s that new equipment I get to play with?²) or bureaucratic sticky-tape
applied to the feet of civil servants at the Ministry of Transportation.
Erin¹s going to give them a call today to see what¹s what.

But the point is, for the time that Erin was sick and lost her license, to
today, she has been dependent on me to drive her anywhere. And this has made
her feel sometimes like a prisoner in her own home. This phrase is commonly
used in any household where two people can afford one car and one of the two
tends to use it for his or her day-to-day work. In situations where we have
chidren or younger teenagers in the home, the phrase becomes ³a chauffeur
mom (or dad)². Recently, Erin picked up a bike at a garage sale, and used it
to ride out to a library to get some time to herself so she could write. The
hills were hard, but the burst of independence that this gave her was more
than worth it.

(And I should point out that the loss of Erin¹s driver¹s license is no
picnic to me either. I like to drive, and I do like the challenge of long
drives, but it is nice to be able to spell each other off. As we are
planning to drive to Des Moines this summer, it would be great if Erin could
get her license back before then).

So, why doesn¹t Erin take the Grand River Transit <http://grt.ca>  bus more
often? Well, actually, she does. We are not in the situation that some
people find themselves in where we¹d be terribly isolated if we lost access
to our automobile. We¹re a thirty-minute walk from downtown Kitchener. We¹ve
a five minute walk from a bus stop featuring fifteen minute service during
rush hour. Erin often picks up Vivian from pre-school and takes her on a bus
ride home; it takes about forty minutes, and delivers us close to our door.
And before we had the kids, we made do for two years without an automobile.
We car pooled with friends, and we took groceries home on transit.

But the forty-minute trip back from Vivian¹s school by bus takes only six
minutes by car. The bus requires one transfer while the car requires none.
Kitchener¹s route 8 picks up students from the University and heads down
Westmount, only to divert onto Belmont Avenue on the way downtown. Route 12
also travels on part of Westmount Road, but diverts over to Fischer Hallmann
and runs up to the Keats Way, lengthening the trip. There is no through
service on Westmount Avenue, providing a service to the University that
would practically be door-to-door for some. although there are vague plans
to get some. To get anywhere in the region, you will likely have to take a
bus that will take you out of your way, and then transfer.

This wouldn¹t be so bad, were it not for the biggest design flaw of Grand
River Transit; that being the location of Kitchener¹s Downtown Terminal.
Although I can see why planners chose to locate the terminal where they did
‹ in the middle of Kitchener¹s long and thin downtown, rather than at either
end ‹ it does make for some frustrating commutes.

Consider a trip that I might take from my house to Uptown Waterloo or the
University of Waterloo. At first glance, it might seem straightforward: take
the Victoria Street bus (either route 19 or 20) towards the downtown,
transfer at King Street to the 7 Mainline bus, and head north. And plenty of
people make this transfer. However, the official transfer between 7 Mainline
and the Victoria Street buses is at the downtown terminal, and Victoria
Street buses must turn right onto King, travel south three blocks to Gaukel,
then turn right again to make the one block jaunt to the terminal. Taking
this full trip means doubling back over an eight block stretch.

If you are transfering from the Victoria Street bus to the King Street bus,
this isn¹t much of a problem; you can get off at Victoria and King, cross
the street to the King Street bus stop, and be assured that a 7 Mainline bus
will be along within five or ten minutes. Going the other way, however, is
more problematic, since buses on Victoria Street travel at thirty minute
intervals throughout the day (and fifteen minute intervals at rush hour).
So, what do you do? Do you get off the 7 Mainline at Victoria and wait as
long as 30 minutes for Victoria Street bus? Or do you continue on to the
terminal, and run the risk that you¹ll arrive just as the Victoria Street
bus is pulling out? And what about transferring to the iXpress for trips
north? Again, you are forced into doubling back.

Similar problems occur at the east end of Kitchener¹s downtown, by Market
Square. If you¹re arriving from Fairview Mall, do you transfer from the 7
Mainline to 8 University via Weber, 15 Frederick, 1 Stanley Park or 23
Idlewood at Market Square? Or do you brave the three block jaunt to the
downtown terminal? This is made all the more frustrating given that King
Street between Frederick and Francis compresses to just two lanes, and buses
crawl along this stretch.

It is a shame that we can¹t have two separate terminals at either end of the
downtown core, with some frequent, rapid connection between the two.

As frustrating as the location of the Kitchener Downtown Terminal was, at
least it used to offer smooth connections between local transit and
inter-city buses. Emphasis on ³used² to offer. In the fall of 2008,
Greyhound Canada made the boneheaded decision to suspend ticket sales at the
downtown terminal, forcing riders to trek a new terminal that being set up
at Sportsworld. This makes catching the bus to Toronto a lot less convenient
for those of us who don¹t have a car, or don¹t wish to drive to Sportsworld.
At least with the Downtown Terminal, you could be sure of using, on average,
one city bus to complete your trip from the transit centre to your home. Not
so with Sportsworld, which can only be accessed by buses from Fairview Mall.
And just what are people travelling to Guelph (which doesn¹t access
Sportsworld) supposed to do?

It seems Greyhound has acknowledged the foolhardiness of this arrangement by
stationing someone with a wireless credit card machine to issue tickets, but
if they¹re going to do that, why not just reinstate downtown ticket sales?

Mind you, there is some blame to be laid at Grand River Transit¹s door as
well. GO Transit has announced that bus service between Milton and Kitchener
will start this October, and it will likely serve park Œn¹ ride stops along
Highway 401. It seems to me very likely that this service will terminate at
the Sportsworld complex rather than continue on into downtown Kitchener. If
this is the case, perhaps it¹s time for the region to add a stop on the
iXpress at Sportsworld, so that anybody who has to transfer at the downtown
terminal need only take one express bus to get to the Greyhound ticket
office, instead of transferring to yet another bus at Fairview Mall.

Connections are also a problem between Grand River Transit and VIA Rail,
which runs a popular commuter service into Toronto¹s Union Station. Accessed
only by the half-hourly Route 18 bus from the downtown terminal, passengers
from other services again have to double back. I either travel to the corner
of King and Victoria and walk the remaining blocks, or take a taxi.

These little inconveniences are what keeps cars in the driveways of most
people who would otherwise happily do without them. I have lived in this
region for eighteen years and have lived relatively car-free for almost ten
of them, so I know that one can live in the region without one. The region
still has a long way to go, however, before it offers mobility approaching a
level of what people enjoy in larger, more transit and pedestrian friendly
centres like Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Fortunately, steps do appear to
be being taken. More on this later.

The Wanderers of Ontario?
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml>

   By James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/>  on May  7, 2009  8:47 AM   | No
Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml#c
omments>   

This post has been crossposted to Bow. James Bow
<http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/05/07/the-wanderers-o.shtml> .

I do hope that billionaire Jim Balsillie is successful in purchasing the
Phoenix Coyotes and moving the hockey team to an arena in southern Ontario
<http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/05/05/spphoenixbalsillie.html> .
A lot of people are really rather excited about the prospect of having a new
team to cheer, and the enthusiasm they¹ve shown suggests to me that they
deserve a team. If Balsillie has the money, and can make the move with a
minimum of taxpayer investment, then this would be a boon for the local
economy. And, given the short sightedness of the NHL board of directors
<http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptcoyotes5
/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home> , I have to say that I am motivated to get
behind this move out of spite.

I¹m sorry, but the level of disdain the NHL directors have shown to
Balsillie and, by extension, the very committed Canadian hockey fans who are
behind him, not only shows poor business sense, but it¹s an insult to my
national pride. I mean, here is a man who wants to buy in, and is investing
a lot of his own money to buy in, only to be thwarted by these nitwits
because they think that Canadian markets don¹t matter. He tried to buy the
Nashville Predators for over $200 million, only to have the owner sell to an
American interest who was offering almost $50 million less. He¹s had the NHL
directors directly step in to thwart his attempt to purchase and move the
Pittsburgh Penguins, and now the idiots at the NHL are threatening to fight
the move out of Phoenix in the courts. Since the courts have previously
ruled that the NFL had no power in keeping the Rams out of St. Louis, I hope
that Balsillie and the judge gives these guys what for.

Indeed, why stop there? ³Make it seven <http://www.makeitseven.ca/> ²? How 
about we make it ten or eleven, by doing what we can, if anything, to 
encourage or cajole the NHL to pull teams away from where no natural ice 
exists at any time of the year, and relocate them to places where the fans 
actually give a damn. It¹s not like any of these teams down south is making 
a lot of money, so let¹s lose the Predators of Nashville and restore the 
Winnipeg Jets. Let¹s ditch the Florida Panthers and bring back the Quebec 
Nordiques. Let¹s give the Atlanta Thrashers a decent home in Halifax, and 
for good measure, let¹s add a team for Regina and third team to the GTA; a 
GTA East to complement Balsillie¹s GTA West offering.

And if the NHL directors don¹t like it, let¹s get Governor General Michaelle 
Jean to ask for her silverware back. She does technically still own it, 
doesn¹t she?

Okay, probably not.

And, yeah, I¹m probably taking this too seriously. I don¹t even follow 
hockey.

Well, as much a I appreciate the enthusiasm 
<http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2009/05/nhl-cyotes-to-kw.html>  of 
some area bloggers, and despite Balsillie¹s obvious connections with the 
area, I think it unlikely that any of us will be cheering for the Waterloo 
Coyotes anytime soon. The Region of Waterloo just does not have the 
population on its own. The City of Hamilton boasts half a million people and 
Copps Colliseum. They¹re also well located in a centre of a circle that 
includes such cities as St. Catharines, Oakville, Mississauga, London, 
Brantford as well as Kitchener-Waterloo. Not only would Balsillie have to 
invest in a new rink here, a Waterloo team would likely sacrifice support 
from St. Catharines and the Niagara Region, with no comparable centre to the 
north or northwest of us to take their place. Really, only Hamilton¹s 
proximity to Buffalo and the territory of the Buffalo Sabres keeps a move to 
Hamilton from being a slam dunk. This is why they¹re talking about building 
a new rink in Vaughan or Mississauga.

However, since there is strong support for a new team throughout southern 
Ontario, maybe Balsillie doesn¹t have to put all his marbles in Hamilton¹s 
Copps Colliseum. Perhaps there are rinks around the area which can host a 
few home games. The Ricoh Centre in Toronto¹s Exhibition grounds, already 
the host of IHL (correction: AHL) games, can offer an outlet to those 
thousands of Torontonians unwilling to mortgage their homes and sell their 
first borns into slavery for Leaf tickets. Maybe the Aud in Kitchener could 
sell out a few times for a few special games around mid-season. Does London 
have a good rink? Does Oshawa?

We can call them the Wanderers, likening them to the Montreal Wanderers 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Wanderers>  of yore, that won five 
Stanley Cups in the early part of the twentieth century.

Might work.

Further Reading:
* KHL Founder Interested in Buying NHL Team 
<http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptmed5/GSS
tory/GlobeSportsHockey> . I especially appreciated this quote: ³It¹s a very 
strange situation when real hockey [cities] like Quebec don¹t have an NHL 
team.² 

Kitchener-Waterloo Social Media Meet-up 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-
meet-up.shtml> 

   By Darcy Casselman <http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/>  on April 27, 2009  
2:22 PM   | No Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-
meet-up.shtml#comments>   

Local blogger, podcaster and entrepeneur, Will Spaetzel 
<http://spaetzel.com/> , is organizing a meet-up for people interested in 
social media: blogs, podcasts, twitter, and so forth.  
>  
> 
> I have been attending the London Blogger/Podcaster Geek Dinner for over two 
> years now and have always had an excellent time at the meetups. There is 
> always great conversations and I¹ve made a number of close friends from the 
> people that I¹ve met there.
>   
> 
> [Š] So I have created the Kitchener-Waterloo Social Media Meetup. We will meet 
> on the third Wednesday of every month. The first meetup is on May 20, 2009 at 
> 7:30 PM at Symposium in downtown Waterloo.

Link <http://spaetzel.com/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meetup/> .

Pasta Buffet for Earthquake Relief 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-reli
ef.shtml> 

   By Darcy Casselman <http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/>  on April 18, 2009 
12:39 PM   | No Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-reli
ef.shtml#comments>   

I happened to see a flier yesterday for the Cortina Club 
<http://www.cortinaclub.org/> ¹s all day pasta buffet in support of 
earthquake relief projects in Italy.  

The Italian Cortina Club has been in Kitchener-Waterloo for over 40 years, 
helping to bring together some 185 families in the local Italian-Canadian 
community.  Many of their members have friends and family in who have been 
displaced or otherwise affected by the Abruzzo earthquake 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake>  last week. 

I made the trip down to check out their savoury spaghettata.  A heaping 
plate of pasta is $20 ($10 for kids), and they are very generous with 
seconds.  Not only that, these folks really know how to make pasta.

The Cortina Club is located at 22 Kevlo Place in Kitchener 
<http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=22+Kevco+Pl.
+in+Kitchener.&fb=1&split=1&gl=ca&cid=0,0,17011678365930826213&ei=HQfqSb6kGJ
rGM5HE0cwF&ll=43.410488,-80.442731&spn=0.011426,0.016479&z=16&iwloc=A> , 
just off Wabanaki Drive.  The buffet runs till 6pm. today, Saturday April 
18.

If you would like to donate directly, they ask that you donate to the O.S.J 
Trust Fund L¹Aguila Earthquake.  They chose that organization on the 
suggestion of the Italian Consulate.  

And if you miss today¹s fundraiser, they¹re planning a $100 a plate dinner 
June 13.  Watch their website <http://www.cortinaclub.org/>  for details.

Taco Bite, 24 King Street East, Kitchener 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-ki
tchener.shtml> 

   By James Bow <http://bowjamesbow.ca/>  on March 29, 2009 12:59 AM   | No 
Comments 
<http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-ki
tchener.shtml#comments>   

Waterloo Region has, for as long as I¹ve cared about the issue, had a dearth 
of good, authentic Mexican restaurants. The food that calls itself Mexican 
is either fast food, or of the heftier, greasier Tex-Mex variety. There was 
Guelph¹s Latino¹s restaurant to fill some of the cravings, but its style was 
more Latin American than specifically Mexican.

So, it was with some anticipation and a little bit of dread that my wife 
Erin, my mother-in-law Rosemarie and I gathered up the kids and tried out 
Taco Bite, an authentic Mexican restaurant that has just opened up in the 
heart of downtown Kitchener. The good news was, the food was authentic, and 
worth the wait. The bad news is, if you go, you have to expect a wait. 

Taco Bite is located on the second story of a small commercial building on 
King Street, just east of Queen. You have to go up a steep set of stairs to 
get to the restaurant (which is not wheelchair accessible, I believe), 
giving it the feel of a secretive little find. That said, the restaurant 
itself is spacious and although it is sparsely decorated, it manages to 
evoke a decent Mexican atmosphere.

Vivian ordered the chicken enchiladas, while Erin decided to try the nachos 
supreme. Rosemarie and I each had the Mexican fajitas. Each dish was 
expertly prepared, and Erin¹s nachos supreme put Taco Bell¹s offering of the 
same name to shame. The food in all cases was delicate (although the red 
sauce of Vivian¹s enchiladas had quite a kick to it), with the ground beef 
on the nachos bearing a faint hint of cinnamon. The fajitas offered sizable 
chunks of beef, chicken and a good portion of shrimp, along with onions, 
green peppers and red peppers that were caramelizing on the hot plate. We 
ate everything and had no left overs.

The only drawback of the evening was the service. The servers seemed a 
little overwhelmed by all the customers, with our server taking several 
minutes to come to the table to take our order, but it was the kitchen that 
appeared to be struggling the most, almost as if each dish was worked on one 
at a time. My father, coming to the restaurant with two friends, noted a 
twenty minute gap between his first friend receiving his meal to the last 
meal (his own) being served.

Erin, Rosemarie and I were able to make the best of this situation, by 
eating our dinner family-style, with everybody sampling from every dish as 
they came. This provided us with a good selection of wonderful tastes which 
salvaged the evening and made it special, but the restaurant needs to work 
on their service problems, or adapt to their limitations (perhaps by 
encouraging family-style eating), so that fewer customers are disappointed.

This restaurant serves excellent Mexican food and deserves to stay in 
business. And although the place seemed busy enough when we were there, I 
hope that these customers remain satisfied enough to keep coming.

Taco Bite is located 24 King Street East, 2nd Floor, Kitchener.Apparently a 
location exists in Cambridge at 1203 King Street East, near Union Street.

Further Reading
* Waterloo Region Record: A Real Mexican Comes to Town 
<http://therecord.metrolandwest.com/arts/NightLife/article/505818> 
* Further details from the Waterloo Region Record 
<http://news.therecord.com/article/489640> 

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